Man beaten, robbed in Wicker Park

A 43-year-old man was punched in the face and cracked on the head during a robbery early today in the Wicker Park neighborhood.

It happened about 4:30 a.m. outside at the intersection of North and Damen avenues, police said.

He was walking when a shirtless man he did not know wearing gray sweatpants approached him and began talking to him and “sparring” with him, as if he was “kidding around,’’ police said.

But he threw a punch that connected and it knocked the victim to the ground, police said.

The victim was also struck in the head, and he was taken to John H. Stroger Jr. Hospital of Cook County where though his condition was “guarded’’ he was expected to survive.

Police said the suspect was described as black man between the ages of 18 and 25, and standing 5-foot-8 to 5-foot-11. He weighs about 150 pounds, was not armed and fled after grabbing the victim’s backpack and something from his pockets.

Police are trying to find nearby business that had video of the incident.